The Resource Dilemma

The environmental resource crisis is felt worldwide but the rate at which the world’s resources are being consumed is drastically skew. The consumption patters depends on economic development and not population, as much as 70% of the world’s consumption of fossil fuel and 85% of chemical products is attributable to 25% of the world’s population. As countries with high Gross National Product continue to consume and pay little for foreign resources it drives 3rd world countries to face more environmental pressures with a loss in there own resources.

With out education, 3rd world countries continue to have increasing populations due to the lack of future security. It is known that when families do not have security in old age and in resources they will have more children to act in place of their lack of recourses. Increasing the family size in poverty level countries allows for more hands to work and to insure at an old age the parents will have someone to take care of them. Income means more to the poor than the rich, this weaken social solidarity and weakens the incentive to protect public goods and the environment.

It has been concluded that as income rises so does the care for the environment so as countries grow there is an initial toll but as development to the society continues there is a decrease in environmental damage. Unfortunately it is not soon enough. Environmental problems that are addresses right away with economic growth are the issues of safe drinking water and sanitation to prevent disease and not necessarily for environmental preservation sake but for human well-being.

Malthusianism ideology is based on the superior powers of population which cannot be checked without producing misery or vice for under developed societies. Malthus natural laws are one way to explain the continuous cycle of poverty in the world. According to Malthus population increases faster than the supply of food available for its needs. As projected by Malthusians, over time population growth will rise and exceed the growth in agricultural production this will lead to a crash due to food shortages.

The drastic skew between the rich and poor countries nutrition is hard to ignore, while 850 million people go hungry on the planet there are 1 billion people over weight. As populations grow there are less resource available due to the skew of the percentages of resources that wealthier utilize as poorer nations suffer.

Resources management tactics need to be implemented to better assist 3rd would countries, by increasing nutrition and education this can can reduce environmental stress from over population and environmental degradation. It is environmental stress that is the cause for over population; an emphases on consumption needs to be addressed to create better strategies for resource division.